Bungalow we are currently in the process of buying has given me the ick!

[ErlingHaalandsManBun]

I have posted about this previously but the issues we are having with the bungalow we are buying continue to come in and it has now given me the 'property ick'

I'm not sure I can come back from it but DH is still really keen to buy. Although he won't make me feel bad if I decide I want to walk away.

Issues are:

Bungalow has no completion certificate from when it was built in 2004 (and it has already had a new roof which makes us nervous as to why it has needed one so soon)

Oil tank is knackered and needs replacing. Due to new legislation it can no longer go in the same place as the one already there meaning we need to move the shed losing a chunk of garden on the other side, and the tank itself will be further into an already small garden.

Boiler is knackered and needs replacing.

Searches have shown a drain under the property which is owned by the house next door and the title shows they have rights to come onto our land to maintain or repair this drain. We are also liable for 50% of any costs incurred for this drain.

Searches have shown the property is in a high risk area of both natural ground subsidence and radon.

All of the above have made me fall out of love with what should have been a 'dream relocation' by the sea. DH thinks everything above is fixable and doable and we need to crack on further and get some answers to our questions and have a proper think before we pull out but I feel just about ready to walk away.

We have put our concerns about the above to the sellers solicitors and have requested they get the build signed off retrospectively along with questions about the oil tank and the location of this drain so are waiting for those answers and having a few days to think and talk further.

I just think that when you are buying a property it should be an exciting experience and I am just worried we are buying something that is a potential money pit and it doesn't feel the same property that I thought we were buying and fell in love with.

Would all this put you off or is DH right?

Can you get rid of the oil entirely? It sounds like it would be a great place for solar, or all electric, or a heat pump, and then you could get rid of the boiler entirely freeing up more space.

Trust your gut OP.

We had to walk away from a property with issues similar to yours. I was in tears making the decision as we really loved the actual house and location and we were actually not far from exchange. But these issues were playing on our minds and unfortunately we just had to pull out of the chain. It was risky as our buyers also then had to wait for us to find a new property. All worked out for the best though, we found our house we are in now which is honestly our dream 'forever' house with none of the issues the first house had and in hindsight I am SO SO glad we made that decision.

It’s annoying but I would walk away.

Trust your instincts.

The drain issue would be the main thing against it. I’d be bothered by the roof replacement, because that could happen again and losing some of a very small garden for an oil tank would put me off too.

Well this is definitely an option and it is something we could definitely consider. But yes, its possible.

Funnily enough we have been discussing this tonight. Getting rid of the oil tank altogether could possibly be a way forward.

We have never had an oil tank or oil boiler before so its completely new territory so I appreciate the comments.

22yrs is a pretty long run for oil tank, oil boiler, asphalt roof by the sea…the salt air is highly corrosive and that lovely sea breeze does a number on roofs

I wouldn’t be replacing oil with oil either. That’s utterly mad in terms of running costs and energy efficiency.

That said, the subsidence risk by the seaside alone would put me off. Can the house even be insured?

Thank you everyone. Some great comments and the suggestions to bin off the oil tank completely is definitely worth some thought, but I am still not convinced that the other issues would be enough for me to want to continue to plow on with this.

We will push for some more info about the drain and the roof and see what comes back and make that final decision from there.

I have been on Rightmove and there are a few new properties that have come on since we offered so we do have other options we quite like the look of.

I am feeling more and more convinced this is NOT our new home sadly.

Like someone said, your home should be your safe haven and I feel this one will bring me nothing but worry.

You’re “Its literally a stones throw away” from the sea? God no. Do not buy. I had a beach house once and the upkeep was insane and home insurance was very very expensive. I’d never do it again.

Yep, I would back out!

When you say roof replaced, does that mean all the roof, or the shingles on the roof?

Personally I'd just update the oil tank, we have saved so much money since living in a house with oil compared to when we were reliant on gas. The roof and certificate would make me nervous though.

Living by the sea is overrated. The salt rusts everything. Plants don't like it. My DH grew up in one, he said never again. The winds are fierce in the storms.

Drains running under the house are a reason we backed out of a house.

Find another one.

Surely it's worth you paying to have a drainage survey done ? The cost is peanuts on the scale of a home purchase. They will provide you with a full report and a copy of the camera footage. You then have a much better idea if you should be sweating about that part of things. A little money spent to either give you piece of mind or further grounds to negotiate?

We have oil, it is very efficient, doesn't smell and yes, the tanks have to be further from a property when renewed, but they can be taller, slimline and you can get them in a variety of shapes. As for maintenance, they require a properly trained engineer and not just someone who says they can service them and is really more of a gas engineer, oil just needs an oil specialist imo always. Drains - for any home, a full drain survey looking at mapping what's under your property and then speaking to insurers for their area information. Radon, it's a thing all over the country. Roof, with weather significantly changing and climate change impacting on the force of weather, so more often and fiercer, than that's the only issue where it would be a no, the rest can be assessed, checked, builder rectified, weather is in the hands of Mother Nature.

Air source heat pump not oil.

but with all of these things walk away

No completion certificate would put me off totally.

I'd probably make a new cheeky offer of 1/3 under, due to the issues. Then bail if they don't take it.

"an older house will have issues"!!! This place is 20 years old, for goodness sake..we bought a 1960s bungalow, our downsize to be near the sea...it's actually 10 minutes away. Someone suggested removing the oil tank and going for an electric boiler...do they realise the cost of running an all electric property. I probably would proceed, but we've always had doer uppers, and done the majority of the work ourselves over quite a few years..Di you really actually though feel nauseous, I have never heard anyone over school age have ick.

I think your DH is giving too much weight to the walk to the sea.

how much longer are we talking? If it still walking distance from other options, what is the difference?

I can see that being a factor on choosing a holiday apartment, but if you’re living there does a 15 minute walk really make a difference?

the fact you’d get money off means you’d be no worse off than if it did t have those issues, but the chunk out of a small garden doesn’t sound great.

it sounds like you wouldn’t be able to use the house as initially planned.

im also house hunting and don’t need a big garden, but some outside space is important.

Walk away

If you go for it, just came to add to the suggestions of getting an air source heat pump rather than replacing/moving the oil system - especially if you were having to replace the boiler too. You can get a £7500 grant for an ASHP, it takes up a small amount of space compared to an oil tank (and can be next to the house). Total costs depend a bit on your existing radiators but if it’s a reasonably new property you probs wouldn’t have to change much and would probably be cheaper overall. You can stick the property details into Heat Geek and they’d give you suggested costs.

of course, for negotiating on the price of the house, you should knock down by the more expensive option!

Not sure you'd be happy with your choice, you'll be looking for problems all the time and worrying about the drains - who knows what neighbours might try and flush?! Plus now you've seen new property coming on the market if you see something as good or better...
Oh and we swapped oil for ASHP via Octopus, much better all round. But takes time to get the hang of how to run the heating. :)

If you are going to worry, it's a rational decision to look elsewhere.